Curiosity Discovers Nitrogen on Mars

Nasa’s Curiosity rover discovered nitrogen in the surface of Mars. The rover’s internal lab detected oxidized nitrogen while it was analyzing rock and dust. Scientists believe that the nitrogen was released during the heating of the powders and the breakdown of nitrates.

Researchers are saying that if the source of nitrogen is nitrates then this will serve as healthy evidence towards the assumption that In a distant past, Mars did had all the conditions which would have promoted life. Nitrogen, when in the right condition and right quantity is an essential for life to exist but nitrogen needs to be in the right form for promote and sustain life.

A nitrogen atom has three oxygen atoms which are useful in biological systems. Earth’s ecosystem uses the nitrogen which is needed and throws the rest in the atmosphere, soil microbes do that. Right now there is no evidence that would clarify that nitrates were made in the same way as they are made on earth.

Scientists also believe that the nitrates might have been a result from some other natural phenomena life lighting and meteors crashing on the planet.

Rover discovered the nitrates on the surface, the dust and rock samples which were drilled from mudstones. The mudstones are evidence that there were lakes and rivers, these mudstones were found in the crater where the rover is sitting. The chemistry and the evidence of lakes and rivers shows that Mar might have been habitable and some form of life might have existed on Mars.